Celebrity Child Support Payouts in Millions

With all of the marriages and subsequent divorces in Hollywood, celebrity child support is a hot topic these days. Just this week, rapper Nas was ordered to pay $350,000 in back owed money to his ex-wife Kellis. The list of offenders in this category is long and rich. Check out the full story, with pictures and video below!

It’s a pretty simple equation: marry a rich celebrity, have kids, then divorce and collect alimony. By no means is this what happened in all of these cases, but rumors can usually be found by fans accusing just that.

A prime example is Kevin Federline, who married Brittany Spears in 2004. The two divorced in 2007 and K-Fed got custody of the kids. Now, he is receiving $20,000 a month for expenses incurred in raising their kids. It’s impossible to accuse any wrong-doing in any of the cases, but you can see how Brittany’s fans could be upset!

Some big names on the list other than the most recent addition of Nas include Eddie Murphy, who is paying $51,000 a month for his daughter with Melanie Brown. The total funds paid until their girl turns 18 will be over $10 Million! P. Diddy’s monthly payments got bumped up from $5,000 to $21,782 a month in 2005 to his ex-girlfriend, which will total $4.5 Million when all’s said and done. Michael Strahan was paying $18,000 a month to his wife even after he retired, but the sum was lowered after a court hearing determined that she was educated and employable and should be working.

Some wiser stars, or stars with wiser attorneys, have escaped the trap of celebrity child support with a well worded pre-nup. Halle Berry was one of those. After her split with ex-hubby Eric Benet where he fought for custody and payments, her contract protected her assets and she avoided having to pay out.

Sometimes, all it takes is practicing safe sex to avoid the perils that these well off movie-stars face. Jude Law could have used that advice a few months ago. While filming Sherlock Holmes with Robert Downey Jr., he managed to conceive with a New York Model Samantha Burke. While he has verbally promised to do everything she needs, she is already pursuing legal action to confirm a monthly paycheck.

Can’t avoid responsibility on this one! What do you think of celebrity child support? Are these rich people victims of devious people looking for a monthly paycheck? Or is this a good thing because it makes the pampered stars actually accept responsibility for their actions? My guess is, as usual, it’s a bit of both. Let me know your thoughts in the comment section!